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The butterfly effect: how a bad soup in China caused a stockout of toilet paper
Supply chains are complex and interrelated connections between different companies. During the last few decades, globalization led to supply chains spanning throughout the globe. Various sources of economies of scale created a de-industrialization of Western countries, with many relying on the vast and cheap(er) workforce of China and neighboring Asian producers. China is effectively the…
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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Inventory Planning and Control
Keeping inventories at the exact desired level is not an easy task. It requires coordination between purchasing, sales, forecasting and demand planning. Very high inventories guarantee demand satisfaction but incur high costs. Low inventories ensure low maintenance costs but involves the risk of losing sales, which represent a very high intangible cost. Let’s look at…
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What is inventory management?
Inventory management, in the context of an industry, usually refers to the material resources management that can help the company generate revenue in the future. The person responsible for this part of the management is the Operations Manager. For example, a retail store that sells various items, such as a grocery store or department store…